The two Cimmerian Sandworms were each easily twenty feet tall and stretched longer than a street block, almost comparable to a Titan-type mutated creature.
Their thick, segmented bodies were ridged and muscular, tapering slightly towards pointed tails, and every movement made the ground shudder.
Their heads were broad, their gaping maws lined with jagged teeth, and their dark, beady eyes sat close to the front as they surveyed the barely edible prey below.
The sheer mass of their bodies pressed down on the sand and forced it aside as they rose fully upright, towering over everything around them.
Since the creatures were Cursed-rank, they were already at Stage Two. Unfortunately for him, they were also among the rare types able to access elemental affinities, as shown by the way they controlled the sand to set it as a trap for their prey.
Normally, Venom-type mutants were unable to access elemental affinities even when they had reached the Stage that allowed it. They could only evolve the spread of their traits, which were almost always poisonous.
However, in some cases that were naturally hard to believe, they could manifest traits belonging to a different type. Yet in a Trial Zone, such an occurrence was considered perfectly normal.
To make matters worse, he was without a weapon or any form of aid, and he was about to face a beast that was of a higher Tier than himself. Unlike the Direwolf, the environment and space were entirely in the creatures' favour.
In other words, he was in a lethal situation, and his probability of death was at its highest point. On top of that, he was still caught in the sinking sand.
A ripple of fear travelled down his spine. For all his improved stats, this was still about to prove that he remained weak.
"…Yeah, damn right. I'm not dying. In case you weren't aware, I have a long and satisfying life to live, you damned creatures of the ruin!" Kyle barked, already surveying the surroundings for any opportunity he might use to escape the situation.
The only chance available to him was the fallen Titan-type beast.
With his enhanced physical capability, which in turn added to his strength, he should have been able to break through its strong bones. The heat might also have weakened them, making them easier to snap.
Although he had no idea how large the entire structure of the bone was, breaking off even a single point would give him a sharp enough edge. Venom-type mutants did not usually have hides as thick as Brute-types, whose bodies left only a handful of viable weak spots.
The Direwolf had been such an example, since he had only been able to target its eyes, and even then he had needed to carry out heavy modifications to the iron pick he had used at the time.
If he could at least bring down one of these two creatures, his chances of escape would rise considerably.
In truth, though, he was facing three enemies. The sinking sand was the third, and he would have to free himself from it first.
All at once, without foreshadowing, multiple tendrils burst out from the mouth of one of the Cimmerian Sandworms. About nine of them, all dripping with venom, lashed towards him.
Kyle gritted his teeth as his eyes flashed with complete survival instinct and determination.
He forced his limbs to still for a moment, thinking fast even as the sand dragged at his weight.
He was already aware that struggling like an idiot, despite the incoming attack which he could clearly see, would only sink him quicker.
His eyes darted to the pale jut of bone half-buried in the shifting grit. The huge carcass was his only ugly salvation that he could use at this dire moment.
He twisted his body sideways, deliberately letting himself dip deeper to buy reach. The sand sucked at his chest with a cold grip despite the desert heat.
With a desperate lunge, he hooked his hands around the bone and shoved hard against it. In reaction, the brittle thing cracked with a sound like splitting timber, the desert heat having already dried it enough to weaken what would normally have been unbreakable.
In life, the bones of such a beast had been its speciality, but in death, although still stronger than ordinary bones, they were no longer indestructible and were prone to the slow decay of natural forces.
The piece he broke away was not clean, but it left him holding a jagged spearpoint that could serve as a weapon.
The creatures shrieked above as two of their venomous tendrils missed Kyle and instead struck into the sinking sand.
They pulled them free with ease, slashing through the air as they retracted.
Kyle wrenched himself from the sucking pit by seizing another incoming tendril, letting it drag him clear, sand cascading from his shoulders as he was hauled out.
Then he launched himself into the air, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, driving his body with a burst of strength he should not have had.
Thanks to his heightened agility, he managed to propel himself to a sustainable height before landing on the back of the attacking Cimmerian Sandworm, while the other remained dormant for reasons unknown.
With aggravated fury, Kyle drove the splintered bone in a savage arc against the first worm's skin and then dragged it down as he slid along its length.
The strike forced the creature to reel back with a guttural roar as ashen blood sprayed out in wide arcs.
In a single moment, just as he was about to shift his angle of attack to deliver a killing blow, the ground lurched violently beneath him.
Pillars of sand erupted high into the air, surging at him together with the worm he faced, like a storm made of grit and stone.
In rage, Kyle shouted with a grimace:
"Fuck you, brother! Can't you see you're going to kill your best friend as well with that—"
He broke off mid-scream as a realisation struck him. The second creature had remained dormant not by chance but because it alone possessed elemental affinity.
It was the one in charge of controlling the earth to capture, while the other wielded venom to kill.
One restrained, the other slaughtered.
That must have been how they had managed to bring down a Titan-type, a beast that would normally have dwarfed them in sheer size.
Most of the bones that might have revealed its true scale had already been sucked beneath the sinking sands.
It was an excellent display of teamwork that deserved credit, and the intelligence of the two creatures was evident.
That was not surprising, since they were of a higher Tier.
Kyle's scowl deepened as he saw the waves of sand coming at him like an entire sea, and then the attack struck.
He pulled out the bone weapon in an instant, dropped to the ground, and skidded sideways with a burst of speed that already surpassed his former limits, using the manoeuvre to evade the miniature sandstorm.
The attack crashed against the other creature instead, though it forced its way through with little effort and emerged unharmed.
Had that strike landed on him, he would have been swept away, and perhaps even killed, since the Cimmerian Sandworm would then have had a much better chance of finishing him off.
At that moment, he was nothing more than a stubborn mosquito, slipping through the battering force and still managing to bite its victim.
Kyle's chest heaved, but his eyes burned with something colder than fatigue.
Honestly, he barely felt tired at all, though a few percentages of his stamina had already been drained.
***
Vitality: 150%
Stamina: 139%
***
Logic threaded through the chaos in his mind. If the earth-controlling Cimmerian Sandworm kept shifting the ground, he would never find stable footing to finish the fight.
The venom-type was lethal, yes, but it was still manageable compared to the other. In short, the elemental one had to go first.
With his decision made, he shifted his target and dashed forward, swift as a driving gust of wind.
He darted low as the wounded companion swung its tendrils at him again. Its injuries were already knitting back together, the torn skin merging at a pace visible to the eye, the wounds slowly vanishing.
The tendrils whipped past his ear, close enough to leave a sharp sting of acid vapour in his nose.
He answered with ruthless pragmatism, hurling the first weaponised bone at the venom-wielder before springing back with fierce agility towards the carcass half-buried in the sinking sand. He tore another shard from the Titan's remains, shaping a second weapon before the ground could swallow him again.
The worm he had marked as elemental reared, sand boiling around its girth and surging towards him in another furious wave.
Kyle's lip curled in a grimace that passed for a smile as he muttered:
"Fine, bitch. Let's see how well you control the desert with a hole in your throat."
He launched himself forward, leaping high towards what could only loosely be called the creature's head, and drove the jagged bone into its throat. He stabbed again and again, like a man possessed, unwilling to loosen his grip for even a second.
Ashen blood poured out as the creature shrieked in agony, its massive frame thrashing before it collapsed to the ground and died instantly.
***
[Alert!] You have slain a Cursed-rank Cimmerian Sandworm
[Reward] Starred Lantern
(Information: …)
Congratulations on your remarkable achievement, [Clueless]
[Your needs have been fulfilled]
***
Kyle's face soured as he read the description of the item he had just received.
A skill would have been preferable, but this was anything but useful.
'…How the fuck is that supposed to be my need right now? Huh?' he thought bitterly, turning away from the fallen creature and fixing his eyes on the only remaining Cimmerian Sandworm, which had already launched ten tendrils at him without giving the slightest breathing space.
What he truly needed was a weapon or a skill capable of destroying this last enemy, not a technically useless item...